Bengaluru, April 26 (IANS) Targeting the Congress-led government for its move to install smart meters and allegedly fixing an exorbitant price of up to Rs 10,000 for common people, the Karnataka BJP, on Saturday, urged the government to abandon “anti-people” decisions.
State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra has said that the Karnataka High Court had criticised the Congress government for burdening the poor in the name of digital meters.
“The Congress government, through one of its guarantee schemes called “Gruha Jyothi,” had given an unrealistic guarantee of providing up to 200 units of free electricity to everyone, but had imposed several conditions for eligibility,” he added.
“However, after the implementation of the scheme, as the Energy Department neared bankruptcy, the government, instead of addressing the crisis, continued to burden consumers by steadily increasing electricity tariffs. Now, the government has made the installation of smart meters mandatory, fixing a hefty price of Rs 10,000 per meter, a decision the High Court has criticised and stayed,” Vijayendra said.
The smart meters, which originally cost Rs 2,000, have been priced at Rs 10,000, thereby looting the common people, the State BJP President added.
“The Congress-led Karnataka government is being questioned — did anyone ask for free electricity at this cost? What will happen to the plight of the poor? The High Court has raised serious concerns over this. Even now, I urge this government to abandon its anti-people decisions and instead focus on citizen-centric programmes,” he said.
The Karnataka High Court on April 25 has passed an interim order of stay restraining Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) and the state government from mandatory implementation of smart meters.
M. Jayalaxmi, a resident of Doddaballapur town, has filed a petition in this regard and challenged the order by the Bescom to pay Rs 8,900 for installation of smart meters.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the installation of smart meters costed only Rs 900 in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh, while in Karnataka, the state government is asking to pay Rs 8,900.
“The court had rapped the state government and questioned whether the government is facing problems due to giving freebies.”
“Who asked for free electricity? This smart meter installation cost should have been reduced. And you have outsourced it. This is dangerous. You are quenching all the poor people. Where should the poor go?” the bench had asked the state government.
–IANS
mka/khz
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
